Dara Charlton, LCSW

Dara Charlton is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) practicing in Oregon with 20 years of clinical experience. She helps adults navigate stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationship difficulties, and anger, along with related concerns such as sleep problems and low self-esteem.

Dara focuses on clear, direct work in sessions. She listens to what is happening now, helps name patterns that keep problems repeating, and uses practical exercises to change unhelpful thoughts and actions. Sessions aim to make daily life feel more manageable rather than relying on jargon or long explanations.

Her background includes a mix of talking approaches and skills-based methods. That means some sessions are about understanding emotions and attachment, and some are about learning concrete tools to manage strong feelings or reduce anxiety. Clients can expect an emphasis on improving communication and building emotional regulation skills.

Dara also supports people dealing with complex or overlapping issues, such as trauma histories combined with relationship strain, chronic health conditions, caregiver stress, or struggles around intimacy and body image. She will work with each person to set realistic, stepwise goals and check progress along the way.

Over two decades of practice, Dara has used client-centered work alongside cognitive and behavioral tools, mindfulness practices, and emotion-focused techniques. The result is a practical, steady approach aimed at helping people reduce reactivity, repair communication, and gain clearer control over daily reactions.

How Dara’s approaches translate to online work